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Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua Foundation

Monday, 21 January 2013

I have had my Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua since the beginning of July 2012 (haul here), and as per usual it's taken me a long time to get round to giving my thoughts on it. I do usually like to give things I put on my skin a long time, as it gives me a chance to use it when my skin is in different states. So foundations and skincare certainly get a few months out of me before I'll say what I think!

Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua was my favourite high end foundation discovery of 2012, so as you'll be able to tell this review will be mainly positive. The coverage of this foundation is light/medium and buildable if you need it to be. I've said before that even though I tend to have breakouts, and I'm always covered in pigmentation marks I prefer to use foundations that don't completely mask my skin, so that it can look "real" but still look flawless. I just use a good concealer along with my foundations where I need it and it really makes a big difference to how my skin looks. In the before and after picture below, it's clear to see that I have the remnants of a breakout on my cheek plus reddish-purple pigmentation marks, pretty much all over. And, even though the other half of my face has foundation on it, it's in the same state as the right side without makeup. I haven't used any concealer in the photo, but you can clearly see that it has drastically evened out my skin tone, and it has covered the majority of the old pigmentation without yet adding concealer. I love that it looks like skin, I think it looks as if it could really be my natural skin if I didn't already know I'd put it on.

The finish isn't matte or illuminating, but more velvety which is why it looks so natural. For me this makes it perfect for my oily/combination skin, as matte foundations can really flatten my skin and make it look dull and tired and illuminating ones can make me look as if I've dipped my face in a combination of grease and glitter - not attractive. I've noticed that this foundation works well when my skin is a littler drier with dry patches too, it definitely doesn't cling like some foundations do. I'm usually very dry on my nose (while around it is oily), but because this blends well and doesn't cling or go patchy, it doesn't make me look all uneven. The formula is water based and you really need to give it a good shake before you use it, otherwise you get runny water out of the bottle - think when you forget to shake tomato ketchup and all the vinegar comes out first. It has a really light consistency which I like, and when you wear it, it doesn't feel like it's noticeably sitting on the skin which I really like.

It is quite expensive being from Chanel (rrp £32.00) which is expected, so I tend to only use this on days when I need my skin to look flawless, opting for a highstreet one for most days. In most other reviews, I've seen people say the packaging doesn't make it worth the money, because other Chanel foundations come in glass bottles for a few pounds more - but I actually prefer the simplistic, easy to use packaging of Vita Lumiere Aqua. It's still 30ml like all the others, but without the fussy "fancy" packaging it is a lot more compact and light - meaning you can take it around with you without it feeling like you're carrying a brick around in your handbag. Although unless it's an overnight trip, I would say this could happily sit at home, because when I wear it I don't need to touch it up at all throughout the day. I haven't done an 18hour day or anything with it on (I'm not entirely certain I'd want my foundation to last that long anyway), but it always lasts me well wherever I wear it. I have worn it on nights out, and it has lasted me until 3am, with dancing the night away on a sweaty dancefloor - it fairs pretty well for me in that sense and that's usually my criteria for a good foundation. If you can last a night out in Glasgow you're a winner.

I can't say for definite because it depends how regularly you use it. I have a lot of foundations because I'm constantly trailing new ones but I still have about a quarter left in my first bottle. I only use this one when I want my skin to look particularly amazing! But for everyday use I imagine it would last just as long as any other 30ml foundation. Xx